Fuel remains a major item in the French holiday budget. But how high are pump prices now compared to previous summers?
Good news, the downward trend is currently continuing: diesel has just fallen below the threshold of 1.70 euros per litre and petrol below 1.80 euros.
Significant drop in prices
At the last reading with prices on 19 July, diesel was quoted on average in France at 1.697 euros per litre and unleaded petrol 95-E10 at 1.7945 euros per litre. Prices were down sharply from the peak seen last spring, but up slightly from early June, with diesel down to 1.67 euros per litre.
Diesel has not dropped below €1.70 since the beginning of summer 2023, as can be seen from our curve showing the evolution of the prices of the two main fuels consumed in France in recent years.
Except that last year prices subsequently rose considerably, with the average price of diesel in August at 1.83 euros per litre. And petrol at 1.91 euros. Throughout the summer of 2023, the average remains fairly close, with 1.76 euros per litre for diesel and 1.86 euros for petrol between 23 June and 1 September 2022.
Looking back to the summer of 2022, prices were very high at the start of the season, before beginning a significant decline. During this period from 24 June to 2 September 2022, we observed an average of 1.92 euros per litre for diesel and 1.84 euros for petrol.
Return of operations to cost
If prices can still evolve during this summer of 2024, current levels suggest a certain pause.
For a 50-litre tank of diesel, the average price for summer 2022 was 96 euros, and 88 euros last summer. At the current price, this bill drops to 84.85 euros.
A rather encouraging sign for keeping pump prices at this level for the rest of the summer is that major retail brands have just relaunched their cost pricing operations. Enough to potentially save your budget a bit by refuelling at these stations.
Source: BFM TV
